Australia
has granted Mike Tyson a visa one week after he was
barred from entering New Zealand due to his 1992 rape
conviction.

A
spokeswoman from Australia's Department of Immigration
and Citizenship said today it had granted the former
heavyweight boxing champion an entertainment visa
to cover the duration of his five-city Australian
tour starting next month. She said officials carefully
weighed the pros and cons of his visit and of his
character given his criminal past.

The
spokeswoman spoke on condition of anonymity because
of office policy. Tyson was to visit both countries
on a 'Day of the Champions' tour.

New
Zealand immigration authorities initially granted
him a visa before a charity withdrew its support and
officials reversed their decision. Tyson served three
years in prison for rape.

The
Melbourne Storm is raking it in, with an extra $1.5
million in with Crown Limited inking as major sponsor
for a third year running, while rugby league in Victoria
could also benefit significantly.

Thursday's
renewal of Crown's only team sponsorship is believed
to be valued at $1 million, give or take a few dollars.

The
funds boost joins the $500,000 Australian Rugby League
Commission chairman John Grant confirmed on Monday
would be delivered to all clubs before October 31.

With
a back-of-jersey sponsorship still to be sold before
the finals, Storm might well collect another payday.

Club
chief exec Ron Gauci advised the funds would be used
to help expand the code in Victoria, a cause boosted
last month with the debut of born-and-bred local Mahe
Fonua.

Storm
officials aim to fund youth teams down to under-16s
and spend up to keep Melbourne "ahead of the
pack" with cutting-edge, football-specific technology.

"We'll
continue to invest in the organisation. We'll invest
both across the football department and administration,"
Gauci said.

"We
want to continue being best practice and continue
being ahead of the game. We'll invest in football
operations and pathway development.

"We
want to extend the Storm brand beyond the under-18s
and we've put in a proposal to the Australian Rugby
League Commission to facilitate the growth of the
game in Victoria and now have the funds to help make
that happen.

"For
us, any investment needs to have a long-term benefit."

The
push from the Government-backed Victorian Major Events
Company to secure more State of Origin clashes in
Melbourne could reap even more cash for local rugby
league.

Plans
are in place to establish a youth academy, with only
the arrival of sufficient funding needed to make it
happen.

Great
to see Crown's casino king James Packer sharing the
love and funds around to worthy causes.

It's
understood that Sydney's South Sydney Rabbitohs management
including king bunny, Russell Crowe, are taking an
interest in the way The Storm and Crown do things,
as you might expect with Rabbitohs also having a sponsorship
deal with gaming - entertainment firm - The Star.

Sydney NRL team also has casino deal...

The
South Sydney Rabbitohs are continuing to enjoy their
sponsorship deal with The Star (formally known as
Star City Casino).

NRL
top brass has said rugby league has benefitted from
its association with betting agencies because it allows
better access to information about irregular plunges.

As
the Australian and globally economy continue to go
through tough times its going to be interesting to
see if more NRL teams ink deals with Australian casino
or gaming firms. I for would would bet yes.

And
what's to become of the Barangaroo 6 star hotel and
casino development in Sydney? Could they also become
a sponsor of an NRL team? With James Packer in the
think of the action one would think so. Keep watching
this space.

Media Release...

Exclusive
Deal For 6 Star Hotel...

Last
week's announcement by Lend Lease and Crown, that
they had signed an exclusive agreement to develop
a six star hotel at Barangaroo South, has attracted
wide ranging media coverage and commentary. Below
is a summary of the media releases and media coverage
to date.

Following
the announcement, the Authority confirmed it will
continue to work with Lend Lease, and now their exclusive
rights partner Crown, to negotiate a new location
for the hotel in Barangaroo South and oversee the
appropriate planning applications that must be approved
before any concept moves ahead.

Acting
Premier Andrew Stoner last week said the development
of such a hotel would represent a significant investment
in NSW tourism infrastructure, and todays agreement
is a vote of confidence in the NSW economy.

It
is, of course, subject to all the necessary planning
and regulatory approvals but Lend Lease already has
an existing permit to build a hotel in Barangaroo
South and are negotiating with the Barangaroo Delivery
Authority to relocate that onshore, he said.

The
creation of a hotel of this stature would deliver
new jobs in construction, off-site manufacturing and
the tourism industry, along with hundreds of millions
of dollars for the State economy each year.

Lend
Lease Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director,
Steve McCann, said that Lend Lease and Crown would
now work towards achieving the necessary development
approvals from the NSW Government for the hotel and
jointly develop the concept plan for the hotel. Lend
Lease is currently in negotiations with the NSW Government
to finalise the hotel location.

Barangaroo
South is a major urban regeneration project that provides
a unique opportunity to create a world class commercial,
residential, entertainment and mixed use destination
on Sydney Harbour. A key part of Lend Leases
vision for Barangaroo South is to have a high quality
international hotel, said Mr McCann.

The
Voice enjoyed a media conference at Hordern Pavilion,
Moore Park, this morning, with Voice coaches and finalists
there to help promote the smash hit TV show, as the
finals approach via Channel Nine.

Update...

The
culling of eight singers from The Voice last night
has set the stage for a controversial finale Channel
Nine's talent comp.

Rachael
Leahcar, Sarah De Bono, Darren Percival, and Karise
Eden will battle it out in next week's grand final.

Only
one singer per team was permitted to go through and
critics and viewers took to Twitter to complain about
the final line-up.

The
ruling meant fan favourites on the same team were
culled.

Both
Leahcar and Percival battled a virus as well as the
high-pressure nerves, which told in their limited
vocal performances last night.

During
the show's preamble, Madden likened the semi-final
line-up to The X Men: "We all have super powers.
No one is better than anyone else."

The
final performances will be on Sunday, with each contender
performing one cover and one original song. The winner
revealed on Monday night, no doubt to massive TV ratings,
the likes of which have not been seen by Nine for
years, is the inside word.

Each
contender will perform one cover and one original
song.

May
the best man or woman win, and hopefully its also
a win for the Australian entertainment industry.

News...

Australian
TV Report With Ratings - The Voice leads...

The
Voice leaped to 2.13 million viewers as the talent
show heads towards to its finale.

That
figure (based on actual broadcast time - not the preliminary
figure of 2.15 million) is up on last Monday's 1.90
million audience in the capital cities and it appears
the two finales on Sunday and Monday should hit around
three million viewers for Nine.

The
program gave Nine a 29.6 per cent channel share against
Seven's 21.0 per cent and ABC1's 13.3 per cent, with
its current affairs line-up led by 736,000 viewers
for PM Julia Gillard's appearance on Q&A.

A
key result for Nine was Tricky Business's performance
into its fifth week. Preliminary figures from OzTAM
demonstrate the Aussie drama rose to 1.091 million
viewers, higher than its launch episode in May. But
the actual figures based on broadcast times show the
drama starring Gigi Edgley averaged 682,000 viewers
with its number rocketed by The Voice's over-run as
"Team Seal" decided its contestant for Sunday
and Monday's finale.

Seven
News came in second for the night with 1.55 million
viewers and rare wins over Nine in Sydney and Melbourne.
The Block continued to build for Nine, up to 1.49
million in the 7pm slot, besting Masterchef Australia
(1.08 million), ABC News (1.05 million) and Home and
Away (1.01 million).

Revenge
continued its awesome run for Seven with 1.218 million
viewers.

ABC1
had a stronger Monday night than usual, led by Q&A.
Four Corners was up to 734,000 viewers, Australian
Story 719,000 and Media Watch 712,000, all well up
on their 2012 averages in the 600,000 region.

Fox
Sports Monday Night Football match between the Panthers
and Warriors bested the platform, with 278,000 viewers
while 210,000 watched the afternoon AFL match between
Melbourne and Collingwood. Seven's AFL figures were
not yet available for publication.

OZTAM
OVERNIGHT RANKINGS FOR MONDAY JUNE 11, 2012

1
THE VOICE Nine 2,154,000

2
SEVEN NEWS 1,549,000

3
THE BLOCK Nine 1,485,000

4
TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,296,000

5
NINE NEWS 1,279,000

6
REVENGE Seven 1,218,000

7
A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,137,000

8
TRICKY BUSINESS Nine 1,091,000

9
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,082,000

10
ABC NEWS ABC1 1,053,000

11
HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,006,000

12
THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 998,000

13
BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE Seven

14
TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 837,000

15
BILLY CONNOLLY'S ROUTE 66 SNEAK PEEK Seven 799,000

Media
Man does not represent The Voice, Shine Australia
or Channel Nine

G'day
punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires,
sports nuts, politicians, legal eagles, one and all.
Australia remains red hot territory for gambling news.
We've got Aussie sports media commentators plugging
gambling, the pro club gambling campaign driving forward,
NRL sports betting probe developments with a link
to Tasmanian "devils" and Aussie pokies
manufacture Aristocrat making a comeback, with the
pokies boss hitting his own jackpot. All that and
more. Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com
and Gambling911
with your gambling, sports betting and pokies news
mix from the land of kangaroos and koalas, with a
rabid Tasmanian devil on the loose...

Gambling
Companies Push Via TV Broadcasts And News Media...

Gambling
giants have the big push on via promoting sports
betting with a volatile and quite effective array
of sweet deals with clubs,
sporting codes, television stations and a big spread
of traditional and new media
outlets.

Sports
commentators are at the front line with frequent betting
odds updates, and mid-match updates are a field day,
if you will. It's all part of the strategy in place
with bookies and big name gambling operators.

"If
you like to have a punt on rugby league, and why wouldn't
ya, the Broncos are $1.50 on TAB Sportsbet,"
former Queensland Origin great Paul Vautin told NRL
viewers in Friday's opening-round match against the
Cowboys.

"Please
bet responsibly - we have to say that. If you race
down to the TAB at half-time, or ring TAB Sportsbet,
they are the prices at the moment."

Next
up was Network
Nine broadcaster Wally Lewis just after the first
half of the game with "TAB Sportsbet right now,
Broncos first to score in the second half, $1.75."

Plenty
of other sports are in on the action too, with Network
Nine sports getting the nod on the most gambling and
sports betting plugs. Cricket has broadcasting Richie
Benaud discussing the odds, with a bit of help from
his fellow commentators, as part of a cool deal with
James
Packer's 50% owned Betfair.

Nine
head of sport Steve Crawley said the broadcaster's
promotion was no different from newspapers providing
odds on sports and horse races.

"We're
electronic media, so when we do that it's in-game.
I realise some people have awful problems with gambling,
but the reality is that it's getting bigger and bigger."

It's
hot fodder in the NRL, which is sponsored by TAB Sportsbet,
has deals with "approved betting providers"
and permits clubs to have their own gambling sponsors.

The
footy still has a scandal on the go from alleged illegal
betting surrounding last year's infamous Canterbury
Bulldogs VS North Queensland Cowboys game.

NRL
chief exec David Gallop said corruption was one of
the biggest concerns for sporting administrators.

"The
risks in terms of penalties have to be severe,"
said Gallop, who is pushing for a specific match-fixing
offence and has warned of offenders facing life bans.

The
AFL is also sponsored by TAB Sportsbet and betting
firms support individual clubs, including Centrebet's
deal with 2010 runner-up St Kilda for a reported $1
million a year.

John
"Singo" Singleton, who happens to love
a punt himself, in the man and the brains behind the
$20 million advertising campaign by the Aussie clubs
against the Julia Gillard government's slot machine
reforms.

The
Gillard government is hell bent so it seems to implement
the "problem gambling" reforms to retain
whatever support might remain from Tasmanian "devil"
(satire) "independent" Andrew Wilkie.

Singo's
ad firm Banjo has developed a media and public relations
campaign to focus on recreational gamblers' fears
of having any government 'Big Brother' spying on their
betting habits. Yep, we kid you not. Australia's are
being spied on, and pokie palaces may turn into one
of the ultimate evil "eyes in the sky",
that may end up making Google Earth and Google Maps
look like child's play.

The
Banjo deal for a cool $20 mil, running for 2 years,
started with online video and newspaper adverts. It
will then pick up even more stream via radio, television,
billboards and even pub coasters. Australian newspapers
have already been giving the news story strong mileage
and its taking on a life of its own, with most gamblers
hating what they hear of government 'Big Brother'.

The
clubs is dead against a mandatory scheme for players
to register before playing poker machines, using so
called smartcards (not so smart say European trials)
and self-selected gambling limits (which can be manipulated).

A
leak said "Clubs Australia said that gambling
revenue will drop considerably as recreational gamblers
get pissed with the government and clubs, and will
take more to online gambling "like a duck to
water". This is right on the money and cards.
The 'Big Brother' approach is a false solution - actually,
its no solution. It's a smokescreen and spin. The
public are not that stupid, they are actually quite
smart, and Labor has underestimated Australians intelligence
once again. No wonder Labor lost the NSW state election".

Singo
and a consortium of investors, including the investment
banker Mark Carnegie, the retail king Gerry Harvey
and ex Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon, have purchased
high-profile Sydney pubs including Kinselas, the Bellevue
Hotel and Peakhurst Inn. Singleton also jointly owns
the Hotel Steyne in Manly.

He
had a strong association with the Labor government
under Bob Hawke during the '80s and early '90s, but
last year developed ads attacking Labor on health
during the election campaign, and earlier joined the
mega push against the mining tax with a campaign for
a Perth client, tipped to be Andrew "Twiggy"
Forrest.

"The
government's belated decision to perform a cost benefit
analysis on mandatory pre-commitment is back to front,''
a spokesman for Clubs
NSW said.

''This
sort of analysis should have been done before the
government announced it was introducing the technology.

''If
that had been done then almost certainly the Prime
Minister would never have been conned by Andrew Wilkie
into making a commitment that will devastate the club
industry.''

The
Families Minister, Jenny Macklin, said ''The government's
position is clear and has not changed.''

Police
Seek Woman Punter Re NRL Cowboys - Bulldogs Betting
Scandal...

Police
have released CCTV images of yet another punter they
want to speak to about an alleged NRL betting scam.
The images were captured at a Browns Bay betting outlet
in Auckland, New
Zealand, between 4.50pm and 5.15pm on August 20
last year - the day before the game between the Bulldogs
and North Queensland Cowboys, police advised. The
woman was described as being aged in her 20s, with
a slim build, shoulder-length hair and of Caucasian
appearance. She was wearing a dark-coloured zippered
hooded jacket, blue jeans and carrying a red handbag
and was seen pushing a young boy in a pram, police
said. She returned to the betting facility about 5.35pm
on August 21. Police said in a statement that they
were not alleging she had done anything illegal, but
said investigators wanted to find out who she was
so they could speak to her. Player agent Sam Ayoub
and ex-player John Elias have been charged in direct
relation to the betting inquiry, while now ex-Bulldogs
prop Ryan Tandy has been charged with four counts
of giving false or misleading evidence to a NSW Crime
Commission hearing. Among the charges Tandy faces
is one of giving false evidence about having placed
a bet on a game between the Bulldogs and Gold Coast,
also last year. The charges against Ayoub and Elias
followed an unusual plunge on a betting option that
the first points of that game would come from a penalty
goal. Tandy was penalised two minutes into the game
for impeding Cowboys playmaker Grant Rovelli in front
of the posts. The Cowboys were awarded a penalty,
but took a tap kick instead of kicking for goal. Tandy,
29, pleaded not guilty to all charges during his appearance
in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on March 3.
Meanwhile, St George Illawarra can finally get down
to concentrating on their 2011 following Wayne Bennett's
decision to leave the club at the end of the season.
The coach's announcement has removed the largest cloud
hanging over the Dragons' premiership defence, with
the constant innuendo and rumour having played a part
in the side's sluggish start to the year. While the
issue won't be fully resolved until Bennett reveals
where he will coach next season, back-rower Ben Creagh
said news of the coach's impending departure would
at least focus the players' efforts on getting the
most out of the time he had left. While the appointment
of Bennett's right-hand man, Steve Price, and the
retention of much of the same squad for 2012 should
ensure a smooth transition to the new era, the Dragons'
best chance to win another premiership in the near
future would surely be while Bennett is the man.

Aristocrat
Boss Hits The Jackpot...

Jamie
Odell, chief exec of Aussie pokie manufacturer Aristocrat,
has hit the jackpot on an 'one armed bandit', if you
follow the lingo. Odell snatched 24% jump in total
pay to $2.5 million last year, despite Aristocrat
putting out another very average result. The chief
executive's base pay in the period increased 19% to
$1.25 million. Aristocrat's normalised profit after
tax dropped 53% in 2010. One of the resolutions at
the upcoming June AGM in Sydney to be voted on by
shareholders is a grant to Odell of 1.02 million performance
share rights as part of his long-term incentive package.
The rights, which would be granted over a 3-year period,
are performance based. If Aristocrat happens to outperform
the ASX 100 by more than 10% cent each year, Odell
will snatch 30% of the shares. He will get 70% of
the shares if he hits certain earnings targets. Will
he meet his targets and hit the Gold Mega Jackpot?
Stay tuned to find out. Aristocrat is also currently
working on a number of b2b deal with online casino
operators which are also tipped to return a healthy
jackpot to the company, as well as hours of fun for
online gamblers.

G'day
and Happy Australia Day everyone. Ok, we know some
of you punters, journos, high rollers - casino whales,
entertainment news junkies, politicians, insiders,
outsiders and legal eagles are from across the globe
are not Australia, nor have ever been down under,
but you get the idea. Did you know that some indigenous
Australia's call Australia Day 'Invasion Day'! That's
because most history books show that Captain James
Cook and his crew invaded Australia on this day in
1988. They are known by a new names including the
First Fleet, while some aborigines will always think
of them and murderous mongrels, who stole their land
and pride. It's easy for many of us to get the point
of the blackfellas (affectionate). Media
Man and Gambling911
with a bush tucker bag full of Australian gambling,
casino, poker, media and sports news. Fair winds...

One
armed bandits are maintaining their popularity in
'The Sunshine State'. It's understand that punters
might have only a 1 in a million chance of winning
really big, lotto - millionaire style, but they just
keep coming back for more. Yep, throw another dime
in the pokie baby. Queenslanders "invested"
close to $2 billion last year as the punters passion
for the slots maintained its fever pace. The total
pokies expenditure of $1.81 billion was slightly down
on the previous year, it was the third year consecutively
the number exceeded $1.8 billion. We're also learned
that the 2008 figure of $1.83 billion was an all-time
record. Now, this is important - those numbers Do
Not take into account the rabid take up and roll our
of online poker or sports betting. You know, betting
over the global medium - the internet. Overall, Queenslanders
spent $7 million less on pokies than last year and
$28 million less than in 2008, but it still works
out at in excess of $150 million every month down
the slots August was the year's biggest month for
slot gamblers, who put close to $170 million in the
throats of the one armed bandits. August was also
the biggest month for gamblers in 2008, with more
than $173 million lost. Pokies remain by far the most
popular games for punters in Australia, bringing in
most of the estimated $17 billion spent on all forms
of gambling down under each year. Some insiders think
that the reduction in official spending was more a
sign of the increased popularity of internet and sports-based
gambling. Concentrating on pokie figures, it appears
Queenslanders gambled more at the height of the global
financial crisis two years ago than they did throughout
2010.

Tassie
'Devil' Gambling Tycoon Devilish Quotes...

David
Walsh from Tasmania was such a big hit with the readership
we thought we would dig up a few more of the red hot
'The Devil's' quotes, that are too good not to share.
First a refresher...Art and gambling do mix, at least
that's the experience of Brits Damian Aspinall, Phil
'Tuffers' Tufnell, Australian artist Gina Sinozich,
Media Man
(bodypaint and burlesque "fetish") and Tasmanian
gambling whale - tycoon, David 'Wicked' (satire) Walsh.
You will pick up on Dave's affectionate nickname by
us later. We like you David, ok mate. Tasmania's most
famous or infamous gambling figure, millionaire, David
Walsh yesterday gave us a peak into his art exhibit...the
biggest (and weirdest) private art gallery in Tasmania,
if not the Asia Pacific. The $110 million Museum of
Old and New Art is nestled on the banks of Hobart's
Derwent River.

Quotes
By The Tasmanian Devil!...

"FUCK
the art, let's rock'n'roll."

"I
think formal curation is a form of mental masturbation."

"I'm
not really that interested in a bunch of big names.
Most of the works are by people most people haven't
heard of and still won't have heard of because there's
no wall labels."

"I
don't want to lose control (or) something that ends
up looking like a pale version of the National Gallery
of Victoria".

"Subversive
adult Disneyland".

"Please
see reception if you are planning a pool party or
a ritualistic orgy."

"It's
the opportunity to mess with your head. I like the
idea of people having a couple of beers and looking
at the art, having a couple more and changing their
mind."

"Ill
take all the popular stuff out. And if you go to the
toilet two or three times well recommend a good
urologist."

My
brother once said about me that Id rather be
outside a barrel pissing in than inside the barrel
pissing out. Im anti this idea that we know
what were doing with certainty. I kinda think
that most things that are good happen to people largely
by accident, but then they start looking for explanations.
You see the views of rich, successful people on television,
and they tell you why they got rich and successful;
they dont interview all the people who went
through the same process and didnt. I think
most things are complete crap. I want to show that
you can be fortunate without believing that your fortune
was anything other than fortune."

"There
are so many things we do that we hide from. We hack
open cows and eat their guts but we compartmentalise
that away from our lives so we can pretend its
not happening. And on a larger, more important scale,
if each of us acted individually to say OK,
we f ed up the atmosphere, it is our personal
responsibility, humanity would behave in a very
different way."

"One
of the things about having money is that I
feel a bit of guilt and a level of privilege, and
it seems to be an obligation to do something, and
since art is what Ive been doing....but it wasnt
really like that. It was: I bought this small gallery,
bought a bigger one, and gradually it became something
of this scale. Its become a lot more serious
endeavour than I intended it to be. Theres a
bit of thumbing my nose at the establishment and trying
to bypass academia, but mainly I just wanted it to
be a bit of fun. And it is. And it will be."

Punters,
let's all spare a thought for those who have been
attacked by the floods on Australia Day. Numerous
events are being planed around Australia, from 'Sound
Relief' to and initiative from the Cairns Reef Hotel
Casino 'Bring on the Sun' It will be one of the biggest
events on the Australia Day calendar for the city
and all funds raised will go to the Premiers
Flood Relief Appeal. There's a good old fashioned
sausage sizzle, competitions and female performers
including the Marlins cheer squad. "The
whole idea is slanted towards the female performer,"
entertainment manager Bruce Stewart said. "Weve
got an eclectic blend of female artists coming to
perform as well." Cazalys, El Mundo Tapas Bar
and the Marlin Coast Bowls Club will also host events
to raise money for flood victims. Cairns Regional
Council will hold events across the region, including
the ever-popular celebrations on the Esplanade. Mayor
Val Schier said the council was expecting a good attendance
as usual with residents keen to get outside and celebrate
our sunburnt country in the green and gold. "Even
last year when it poured, a huge number of people
came to the Aussie breakfast; we expect the same will
happen this year, rain, hail or shine. It is one of
those days where people can come together as a community
and help celebrate why it is great to be an Australian.
We live in a fantastic country and it is good for
people to get out and enjoy it." Pubs and clubs
will also get into the Aussie spirit with a number
of activities on offer. Paradise Palms Resort and
Country Club has a patriotic, fun-filled day planned
with activities that pay homage to Australias
heritage such as the much-anticipated pie-eating competition.
"Everybody is welcome to come along and have
some fun while tucking into our Aussie selection of
meat pies, icy beers, lamingtons and classic Australian
music by DJ Danny from Millennium Sounds," director
of sales and marketing Darlene Holdsworth said.

Events

Join
the celebrations

Paradise
Palms Resort and Country Club Australia Day celebrations
Whats on: Australian menu served from noon in
Restaurant 59, pie-eating and thong-throwing competitions
start at 1.30pm. Pies, icy beers, lamingtons and classic
Australian music on offer at the resort.
Time: 12pm. Entry free.

Shane Warne And Poker Mates Get VIP Star Treatment
At Australian Open Tennis Sunday Night...

The
spinner got there at 8pm hoping to get star VIP treatment
for 14 of his closest mates. In the mix was was Joe
Hachem, who he had earlier caught up with at the launch
of the Aussie Millions Poker Tournament at Crown Casino.
Warne requested an escort (no, not that type silly)
when he arrived and posed mostly for photographs with
his sunglasses on. He also spent time in Andy Roddick's
player's box during his loss to Swissman Stanislas
Wawrinka. It been a big couple of days for "poker
her" for the legend, playing rendezvous with
Liz Hurley in LA. He is expected to play in the second
round of the poker tournament and could face off against
Gary Ablett Jr and Jeff Fenech tomorrow. Blett made
it through to the second round.

It
took us a few months of going through newspapers but
we finally found the AFR to make a slip up, and its
a doozy....An article reads "the complex will
have a few upmarket bars, including one on the roof,
and an events theatre to house live acts  think
Lady Gaga  as well as awards nights." With
Gaga's level of popularity she would require a much
larger venue than Star City. Earlier this year, she
- they played two concerts at the Sydney Entertainment
Centre, capacity 12,000 or thereabouts. Do the math.

Melbourne
folks at Crown Casino recently enjoyed 'The Jokers
Comedy That Rocks' at Crown Casino. James Packer's
casino donated all proceeds from last Friday nights
show to Queensland flood victims. Organiser William
Leitch has happy with the way things went and showcased
an evening with some of the citys top stand-up
artists, including Brad Oakes, Christine Basil and
Greg Fleet. It's understood he got close to 150 people
to come along, and he may be invited back on upcoming
Friday nights.

39.
Crown: Donation tins in Crown complexes and have committed
to matching all donations as well as staff contributions

52.
Tabcorp Holdings: $1 million

78.
Tatts Group: Going to run a dedicated lottery for
the Queensland flood appeal where all profits will
go to the Premier's Flood Appeal. They ran the same
thing in Victoria after the Black Saturday bushfires.
It will run on Wednesday 2 Feb in Queensland and is
expected to raise $200,000. In addition, another donation
will be made from the unclaimed prizes fund of an
as. yet undecided amount

79.
Fairfax Media: Matching staff donations

100.
Seek: Reported it had made a donation to the Premier's
Flood Appeal but chose not to disclose how much

It's
been reported in a number of Queensland newspapers
that the $1000 flood relief grants that went to many
good folks in Granville are being used to feed slots
and buy piss (beer) rather than food and necessities.
Two Maryborough publicans say that in some instances
the answer to that is yes, and they are disgusted.
One of the publicans was so incensed by the misuse
of flood relief money she telephoned Fairfax Media
to complain. "A man came in bragging about how
hed got the $1000 payout because he told Centrelink
he was stuck in Granville  but he was here the
whole time. It makes me sick that people are openly
admitting theyve got the money for nothing,
while there are people whove died or lost everything."
She said Centrelink should have screened the applications
more carefully to make sure only people who were genuinely
in need received the cash. Another pub owner said
his one armed bandits had not stopped buzzing since
the grants became available. "We were quiet during
the actual floods but this weeks been totally
different. The pokies and the bottle shop have been
going non-stop." Yeah, Aussie continue to love
a punt, rain, hail, shine or flood!

Aussie
Millions Game 8 Results...

The
London based chap took down the $1,100 8 game mixed
event title at Crown Casino in Melbourne adding AUD$23,800
to his almost $1.2 million in career tournament earnings.
He entered the final table as the short stack, but
managed to grind his way to victory and nudge away
Australia's Bruno Portaro for the victory. The event
marked Ashby's 8th final table appearance at the Aussie
Millions that includes a side-event win back in 2005
and a seventh-place finish in the main event in 2009.
Ashby also won his first WSOP bracelet this summer
in the $1,500 7 Card Stud event and went well in the
$10k H.O.R.S.E. for his biggest career score of $378,027.
The 2011 Aussie Millions $1,100 8-Game Mixed event
drew 68-players and paid the final 7.

Aussie
Main Event Day 1b: PartyPoker And Full Tilt Poker
Players Feel The Pain...

PartyGaming'sPartyPoker
and Full Tilt Poker's powers that be likely won't
be celebrating. Ok, they got news coverage and exposure,
but its because their players are out. Yep, history
maties. Full Tilt went well on Day 1a but Day 1b was
rooted. Many of the big name pros went down for the
count as locals stepped up. 209 players entered the
Crown Poker room but after 7 levels of play, 80 remained.
David Oppenheim, Annette Obrestad, Carlos Mortensen,
David Benyamine, Andrew Feldman, Steve Yea, Andy Bloch
and Gus Hansen were some of the Full Tilt players
who died. Other casualties included Luke Santo, Raj
Ramakrishnan, George Moussa, Michael Pedley, Graeme
Putt, Martin Comer, Dennis Huntly, Jamie Pickering,
Bruno Portaro, Casey Kastle, Ben Savage and Tim Marsters.
2005 World Champion Joe Hachem (tweeting he struggled
with jetlag following a recent trip to the PokerStars
Caribbean Adventure.) Defending champ, 2010 Aussie
Millions Main Event winner Tyron Krost (PartyGaming's
PartyPoker
pro went down too). A new champ will be crowned in
2011 with plenty of Aussies still in contention. The
field kicked off with Jeff Rossier in the lead with
154,900, closely followed by Michael Ottobra (143,400)
and Martin Drewe, After winning the Opening Event
last week and going deep in another event, Drewe is
now set in the chip leaders in the Main Event after
getting to 136,100. Jay SEABEAST Kinkade
did nicely with 128,700, Haibo Chu (113,900), Manny
Stavropoulos (85,600), Sorel Mizzi (74,400), Michael
Egan (61,100), Kent Hunter (56,400), Jeff Lisandro
(55,000), Eric Assadourian (50,300), Scott Montgomery
(49,200), Chris Ferguson (45,400), Lee Nelson (30,200),
Neil Channing (28,800), Roland de Wolfe (26,100),
Aleks Brkovic (24,600), Jackie Glazier (21,900), Grant
Levy (18,300), Gary Benson (10,500) and Mel Judah
(7,200) amongst those who will return on Day 2. The
3rd and final flight of the 2011 Aussie Millions Main
will commence Tuesday with another strong field and
a few big names expected. Even Van Marcus will front
up. Van, is your Red Ferrari safe this time mate?
We're looking for more good fodder to write about.
How about do a publicity stunt and make world wide
headlines ago. Maybe someone at Crown Casino - Crown
Limited might be open to it. Stanger things have happened...
like Ferrari's getting stolen on site, casino fights
and a man getting stuck in the Crown Casino kitchen
grease vacuum.

Aussie
Millions Event #9 Day 1b: Rossiter In Front...

It
was down to business with players investing AUD$10,600
to buy in all with the goal of becoming the 2011 Aussie
Millions Champion. 7 seven levels of play, and the
209-player field went to 80. Jeff Rossiter is in front
with 154,900. Martin Drewe, 2011 Aussie Millions Event
#1 winner with 136,100 - now 3rd on the leaderboard.
Australian Jay Kinkade is on 128,700, and European
Poker Tour mainstay Jeff Sarwer sits 5th with 120,500.
Randy "nanonoko" Lew has 110,000 and Gavin
Griffin 101,700 in 9th ninth and 10th place. Sorel
Mizzi, Jeffrey Lisandro, Eric Assadourian, Team Full
Tilt's Chris Ferguson, Full Tilt Poker Red Pros Scott
Montgomery and Roland de Wolfe, Neil Channing, and
Lee Nelson have also all made it to Wednesday's Day
2, but it was touch and go for some of them, testing
the skill VS luck debate. Full Tilt Poker $25,000
Shootout Invitational winner David Oppenheim, Annette
Obrestad, Carlos Mortensen, Andy Bloch, David Benyamine,
Andrew Feldman, Gus Hansen, Joe Hachem, and David
Steicke all had to say goodnight nurse. PartyGaming's
- PartyPoker
Tyron Krost was eliminated in a hand VS Gavin Griffin
where his Ace-Queen couldn't best Griffin's Aces.
The 3rd and final Day 1 flight commences Tuesday in
Melbourne, Australia at 12:30 p.m. local time.

Getting
board of poker yet? If so, try your luck er skill
at Baccarat or Craps. If your more into luck, check
out the slots like Cleopatra, Sinatra, Rambo, Goanna
Gold and The Terminator. Rumour goes PartyGaming
also have, or will soon get, a World
Poker Tour themed online slot game. We recommend
punters open an account with PartyCasino,PartyGaming
and World
Poker Tour, just to have all based covered. Party
appears to still be the most popular online casino
brand in Australia despite big efforts by the likes
of 888. Marvel
slot games are forecast to be some of the most
popular of this year with Captain
America and Thor
tipped to hit Australia cinema's this year, with Spider-Man
also getting a remake. Whatever your casino game of
choice, good luck, and let us know how you go guys
and girls. Spin to win.

Take
the time to research and learn games before placing
down money

Media
Man,Casino
News Media and Gambling911
are website portals. Not casinos as such, however
are recognised as world leading websites that cover
the sector and act as central points to games, news,
reviews and more.

Readers...
er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us
in the forum.

If
you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over
it, and for God's sake, have fun.

It's
one of Australia's hottest political stories at the
moment. At least, that's the vibe, and its getting
a good run on Aussie talk back radio and inches dedicated
to Australian newspaper print, not to mention the
strong coverage on leading news and entertainment
website portals such as Gambling911, Media
Man, Crikey and 'The Shout'.

Gaming
- pokie giant ALH (Australian Leisure and Hospitality
Group).... you've got to love the "leisure"
reference, has punished and kicked the head in (figure
of speech: there were no pub fight ok punters) of
the Aussie government plan requiring all gamblers
to nominate how much they are prepared to lose down
the throats of slots - fruit machines aka "one
armed bandits" before trying their luck, starting
it would have a "seriously" negative impact
on most who enjoy getting on the punt pokies style.

The
ALH, 75% cent owned by Woolworths, who we affectionately
call 'The Fast Cash People' (satire ok guys) advised
the gambling policy was "deeply politicised"
and club and pub owners were being unfairly targeted
while online gaming escaped regulation.

Clubs
and pubs are of course land based premises on Australian
soil, while online gaming and online gambling no very
few boundaries, with many of the world's largest media
companies, including some in Australia, covering the
sector in both a media, PR, affiliate, B2B and holistic
campaign capacity.

In
recent years Australia's Fairfax Media, publisher
of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and a number
of online news and entertainment website portals like
Brisbane Times, along with The Daily Telegraph online
and other Murdoch Australian online news entities
have developed dedicated sections on gambling, gaming,
sports betting et al, with punters and readers lapping
it up. Australia's AdNews website is has also taken
on ads, and James Packer's Betfair has promos on a
swag of websites, and on many mainstream TV broadcasts.
Yep, gambling is everywhere, and NRL team, the Penrith
Panthers is tipped to soon have their footy ground
renamed Centrebet Stadium, or something to that effect.

Website
portals like IGN, Virgin and Media
Man Int, are expanding out in a wide variety of
domain name extensions, building brands and reach,
some targeting specific geographic regions. Example:
Media Man
now has Media
Man Canada.com and well as Media
Man Asia and Media
Man Network, which Virgin has .ca and over 100
variations of its Virgin name, including Virgin Games,
Virgin Casino and Virgin Unite. For the record Virgin
is not currently accepting Australian online players
from what we can gather. PartyGaming, PartyCasino,PKR,Captain
Cooks,Winner,Centrebet
and James Packer's Betfair
appear to be some of the strongest online brands that
can accept Australians (and New Zealanders), and online
portals like Media Man list them for educational purposes,
putting the information out to the world via the global
medium - the internet. In many cases casino games
are reviewed listing currency and language options,
as well as play for free or play for money scenarios.

To
their credit, many of the media and entertainment
companies featuring some gaming and igaming coverage
do support a number of worthy causes, be it The Salvation
Army, Virgin Unite, The Red Cross and GenerationOne,
and some even making cash donations to struggling
charities on the quite, not seeking fame of thanks
for their good deeds.

Crown
Casino, home to the Aussie
Millions has an online presence, and has conducted
B2B with the likes of PartyGaming,
where the current champion is an Australian who learned
how to play online with Party's online poker brand.
Crown over the past few years have got into bed somewhat
with online poker firms, accepting "online poker
satellite qualifiers", where players play on
online websites, with the some of the best players
winning seats to the land based poker tournaments.

Back
to the politics of pub pokies, much of the fuss relates
to the Australian government broken promise to the
Australian clubs and pubs sector, while pandering
to the wish list of a certain well known Australian
senator. Many media commentators in Australia said
the senators demands (for securing his vote), accounted
to a version of blackmail! Strong allegations, and
these were carried in about a dozen different media
outlets down under in Australia. The policy itself
was a mammoth clash with the Productivity Commission's
view - policy on the run...a deal struck between the
independent... get read for the name... MP Andrew
Wilkie and the federal government. In exchange for
Wilkie's support, the government promised a "full
pre-commitment scheme" for poker machines by
2014, igniting a war of words and public backlash
from the powerful pubs and clubs sector, with Wilkie
being shouted out of a few meetings with regional
clubs, with Australian pensioners being some of the
most upset, distressed and basically, pissed off,
wanting the Aussie Labor Government thrown out of
office.

The
ALH Group outlined in its submission to a parliamentary
inquiry, the government's policy would probably be
ineffective and would basically force substantially
higher costs on pub owners, clients, associates and
suppliers.

A
lengthy Productivity Commission inquiry recommended
"full pre-commitment" by 2016, and the ALH
and others pushed for more research.

The
ALH is the proud operation of in excess of 12,000
pokies aka "one armed bandits" and 286 pubs.
They are king! Pushing for a voluntary pre-commitment,
ALH advised problem gamblers would still find a way
to bet online where the internet has few boundaries,
where less regulations applied. Online brands such
as PartyGaming, PartyCasino, Captain Cooks, Centrebet
and Betfair are well known, trusted, ethical and popular
with Australians and New Zealanders, with punters
not so keen to try out other lesser known brands.

The
submission ignored "overwhelming evidence"
that a pre-commitment scheme would help reduce problem
gambling, Senator Xenophon said, likening its stance
to big tobacco firms denying the dangers of smoking.
The question and claim is being investigated with
some journalists not so sure it was "overwhelming
evidence" with some saying it was clever spin,
backed by "junk science" coming out of some
Australian universities known for their dislike of
the gaming and gambling sector.

'Mr
X' (satire) added "The irony is there are people
who cannot afford to buy food from a Woolworths supermarket
because they are blowing their money on a Woolworths
poker machine".

Senator
Xenophon and other anti-pokies groups convinced Woolworths
last year to keep children away from its poker machines.
Woolworths made $176.7 million in pre-tax profits
from its hotels division last financial year. The
pub baron Bruce Mathieson owns the remaining 25 per
cent of ALH.

The
parliamentary inquiry will hold public hearings in
capital cities next month.

Many
Aussie based legal eagles such as Jamie Nettleton
from Addisons are expecting strong business this year,
as the legal complexities of online vs offline, website
portals vs casinos, affiliate programs, PR VS news
and campaigns et al, continue to get looked at. Our
friend Nettleton has already gone on record that many
Australian laws are outdated and do not basically
cover or apply to the global medium that is the world
wide web. Nettleton is recommending more regulations,
which in turn will help better protect consumers,
and well as help with taxation laws and other business
functions, resulting in a win - win - win.

Australian
Land Based Casinos VS Land Based Pokie Palaces: Australian
Casinos List...

Punters,
we know your just begging to get your current Australian
land based casino hotspots back on file, many of which
are massive tourist attractions, so here it is...

The
tobacco industry has launched a fresh and "backdoor"
type attack on legislation to make plain packaging
of cigarettes compulsory, using a regional FTO (free
trade agreement) to which Australia is expected to
sign up to.

Tobacco
giant Philip Morris has used Australia's plain-packaging
laws, set to come into effect next year, to debate
the need for "investor state" provisions
in the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
This would basically facilitate companies to sue member
governments if they pass legislation curtailing business
activities!

Thomas
Faunce, an Australian Research Council future fellow
at the Australian National University, called on the
federal government to resist the inclusion of investor
state provisions in the agreement. He said the provisions
duplicated ground that had already been covered in
the 2005 Australia-US free trade pact.

"Australia
can rebut such attempts on the basis that they reopen
the (free trade agreement) negotiations where an investor-state
clause was expressly excluded," Associate Professor
Faunce wrote in a critique published today in the
Medical Journal of Australia.

Negotiations
on the trade agreement - between the US, Australia,
New Zealand and six South American and south-east
Asian countries - intensified last year and are expected
to be completed in September.

In
a submission on the proposed trade agreement to the
US trade representative, Philip Morris cited Australia's
plain-packaging laws among "initiatives of concern".

The
company said it supported laws to reduce any harm
caused by tobacco, but opposed "extreme and disproportionate
regulation which has the effect of violating
international law and expropriating intellectual property
rights".

Simon
Chapman, a professor of public health at the University
of Sydney, said the company's stance was consistent
with the tobacco industry's history of attempting
to use trade agreements to defeat individual countries'
health laws.

"It's
yet another sign of the degree to which the industry
will go to to defeat and delay any measure that will
actually work (to cut smoking rates)" he said.

The
World Trade Organisation's Uruguay Round had established
the right of countries "to put health considerations
above international trade considerations".

Patricia
Ranald, of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment
Network, which advises on human rights, and the environment,
said Australia would receive little export benefit
from the treaty because the free trade agreement was
already in place.

"What
we want to say to our government is that we should
negotiate about trade issues but not about social
policies," Dr Ranald said.

Craig
Emerson, the Minister for Trade, would not commit
on excluding investor-state provisions from the trade
pact, saying he was not prepared to make policy on
the run.

But
he said Philip Morris would be "whistling in
the wind" if it tried to undermine national anti-tobacco
laws.

The
tobacco industry ie: smoking, has long been linked
to other industries such as gambling (where punters
often chase land based pokies where smoking is allowed),
the sex and fetish industry, fashion (models smoke
instead of eat correctly, not to put on weight) and
motorsport (especially F1), but exposure of tobacco
products on cars has been massively reduced - more
than halved, over the past 5 years, with energy drinks
like Red Bull picking up some of the slack.

Media
Man,Casino
News Media and Gambling911
are website portals. Not casinos as such, however
are recognised as world leading websites that cover
the sector and act as central points to games, news,
reviews and more.

Readers...
er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us
in the forum.

If
you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over
it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Media
Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet
portal development company. Gaming is just one of
a dozen sectors covered

News

Australian
And New Zealand Gambling And Entertainment News, by
Greg Tingle - 9th January 2011

Punters,
January continues to shape up as a huge news month
for both Australia and our Kiwi friends in New Zealand.
Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com
and Gambling911 with another non sheep like report
- often imitated, never duplicated, from the Pacific
to the Tasman, and all points in between...

Alcohol
laws designed with the key objective of stop drunken
violence dead on Darwin's meet streets, namely Mitchell
Street, are being rolled out to Palmerston and Alice
Springs. Drunk bastards can by law be banned for 48
hours from the 3nominated areas and will be staring
down the loaded gun barrel of a $133 on-the-spot fine,
slam bam, thank you mam. There's been 9 bans issued
since the Darwin law was introduced on October 1 of
last year, Acting Chief Minister Delia Lawrie shared
and it was "important to give police the tool
to issue on-the-spot fines and bans. It's a preventative
measure to stop people who have too much alcohol in
their system from carrying on like lunatics."
In Palmerston, the ban precinct encompasses a 1km
radius around the central business district. Mayor
Robert MacLeod supports the ban. "The ones who
are causing trouble are the ones that have to watch
out," he said. Macleod denied the law would unfairly
target itinerants and ban them from parks within Palmerston.
"If we sit back and do nothing, it stays the
same way...as leaders of the community, you have to
make decisions. If we don't try something then why
are we here?" The Alice Springs precinct boundary
is Wills and Leichhardt Tce, the golf course, Lasseter's
Hotel Casino and Stephens Rd to Telegraph Tce. Mayor
Damien Ryan is hopeful the strong arm of the law will
shift troublemakers out of the town centre. "It's
everybody's right to have an evening out without being
hassled by others who cause grief," he said.
Banned people can enter the designated area to work
but not for recreation. The NT Government plans to
introduce 48-hour precinct bans in Katherine and Tennant
Creek. Yep, we breed in tough in the "top end"
of Australia, but mongrel bastards of the drunk variety
will not be tolerated thank you.

An
insider leaked across the www "We continue to
have good success with lottery syndicate sales, even
in our small temporary location. The small A5 mini-posters
which we have stuck on the pole holding the lottery
terminal screens works a treat for us. It is terrific
seeing a customer make a purchase and decide on a
syndicate ticket as well as the items they brought
to the sales counter. It costs nothing to make the
A5 poster. In a one hour stint last week I saw four
syndicate shares sold specifically because of this
promotional placement. We change the syndicates we
promote in this location regularly. Syndicates are
also promoted at our lottery entry table (workbench)
as well as in a display behind the counter."
Ed: apparently this is pretty big news in the world
of Australian newsagents who delight at selling lottery
tickets, so don't blame us is it doesn't turn you
on!

Elvis
Presley Impersonators Coming Up For King Title At
Milwaukee Casino; Australian Look And Act Alikes In
The Mix At Casino In Next Round...

Elvis
Mania is running wild at America's Milwakee Casino,
and yep, Australians from down under at trying their
luck to be 'The King'. "Tribute to The King"
is the gig at Milwaukee's Potawatomi Bingo Casino.
You've got all sorts of Elvis want a bees. The Elvis
impersonation comp...always near Elvis Presley's birthdate
enjoys a cult-like following. 500 folks fill up the
seats for the first round of action. Elvis nuts arrive
early to snatch the prime seats of the house. After
4our days of competition in 2010, one of these great
pretenders...Matt Joyce of Arkansas...left with the
$25,001 grand prize, billed as the largest in the
world for this type of competition. Among the judges
were three of The Imperials, a group known for backing
up Elvis Presley on his albums and tours until 1971.
"I don't think enough realize what a wonderful
singer Elvis was," says Sherman, a friend of
Elvis' who joined The Imperials as lead vocalist after
their work with the music icon ended. The event began
as a look-alike contest nine years ago, then morphed
into much more. Now Elvis fans schedule a week of
vacation around the competition, says Rachel Buelow,
the theater's entertainment coordinator. Performance
videos are part of the contestant screening process.
Judges are told to notice and rate the appearance,
costume, vocals, choreography and "overall replication
of The King." Contestants supply their own background
music, props (only guitars and scarves are allowed)
and arrive ready to perform because of a lack of changing
rooms. Next week's "Tribute to The King"
contestants include Elvis impersonators from down
under in Australia and the United Kingdom. Preliminary
competitions start at noon Tuesday through Thursday
and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Admission is free,
but seats fill quickly. Tickets are $20 to $35 to
daily finals, which start at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through
Thursday and include a show by Elvis impersonators
Ryan Pelton and Matt Joyce as Double Trouble. Tickets
to Friday's grand championship, as usual, sold out
soon after going on sale in late November.

Australia's
Air Supply Soft Rock Legends To Perform At Casino
New Brunswick in Moncton...

Aussie
soft-rock band Air Supply, best known and loved for
'80s ballads like 'All Out of Love' and 'Even the
Nights Are Better', will perform at Casino New Brunswick
in Moncton on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. Yeap, we
know, love songs in a casino, but at least they are
not hate songs! Tickets for the show have only just
recently gone on sale today at the casino box office
for $29.50, which is pretty good value to see an hear
living legends. Air Supply has been doing their things
since 1975, when Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock
met while rehearsing for the musical Jesus Christ
Superstar in 'Sin City' Sydney, Australia. They started
out with one guitar and two voices, playing coffee
houses and local nightclubs, building up a reputation
for their harmonies and original songs. They got a
break with CBS Records and went on tour in Australia
and Canada with Rod Stewart. They signed with Arista
Records in 1980 and began a string of hits that pulled
on the heartstrings of listeners around the world.
Their rise to success coincided with the boom in music
videos through MTV and MuchMusic. Their biggest hits
included Lost in Love, All out of Love, Even The Nights
Are Better and Making Love Out of Nothing At All.
Air Supply was the first western group to tour the
orient - China, Taiwan and other countries that would
not allow pop music across their borders. They continue
to tour and record. The band has released a new album
called Mumbo Jumbo. Recorded at Graham Russell's home
studio in Utah and at the Odds On Records' studio
in Las Vegas with top session musicians and an orchestra,
Mumbo Jumbo was produced by Russell and engineered
by Sean O'Dwyer (Pink Floyd, Randy Newman and Blink-182).
"Because of our crazy touring schedule, Mumbo
Jumbo took three years to complete," Russell
says. "Hitchcock and I couldn't be happier with
the results. We had been releasing projects independently
for a long time. While sticking to our vow of never
making an album unless we are convinced it has numerous
potential hit singles, we also believe that we have
emerged with our best overall collection to date."
The band reckon the new album was welcome news to
millions of Airheads who were waiting for the duo's
latest work. Among them are Ozzy Osbourne (who has
attended their shows in disguise) and Al Pacino, who
recently was spotted hanging out in a dark booth in
the back of Orleans in Las Vegas, one of the duo's
regular venues. Hitchcock added, "We had 12 songs
recorded for the album, which to me seemed like plenty,
but Graham came to me with two more he wanted to record,
and I had an equally positive reaction to those. When
he said, OK, now we have everything we need, I knew
instinctively that we had a finished project. Writing
and recording new material is our lifeblood that keeps
us fresh and excited. In concert, we know we raise
eyebrows when we say we're going to start playing
new songs, but then we start and the audience realizes
how much love and care go into them. We've been around
nearly 40 years and are not only holding our own out
there but firmly believe, with albums like Mumbo Jumbo,
that our best days are still ahead of us." Air
Supply will perform at Casino New Brunswick on Thursday,
Feb. 17. Tickets for the show are $29.50 (plus tax
and applicable surcharge) and are available at the
Casino Gift Shop (located at 21 Casino Drive in Moncton,
exit #450 off the Trans-Canada Highway), by calling
1-866-9-GET-TIX/ 1-866- 943-8849. If the songs make
you feel lucky for the opposite sex, or whatever tickles
your fancy, you might want to have a flutter on casino
games also. But, remember, bet with you head, not
over it.

Port
Phillip Council will reject any and all new applications
for gambling venues as part of its new gaming policy.
Could that be a form of discrimination many political
and gaming commentators are asking. The make on the
run policy is a knee jerk response to some folks who
are concerned about the number of venues in the area.
Insiders say many bible basher, good two shoe types
are behind it. The small but vocal minority, who like
to have a whinge and a wine about all matter of things.
If you're reading, you know who you are! There are
at least count 18 TABs and 384 electronic gaming machines,
operating from 10 licensed venues within the city.
Melbourne's Crown Casino also sits just outside Port
Phillips border. Mayor Rachel Powning said the
council wanted to introduce strategies to help those
at risk of problem gambling. "It comes under
part of the social justice area of council business,"
Cr Powning said. Local agencies are under stress
in the inner-city and it is the low to middle-income
earners for which gambling is a problem here. "Along
with gambling comes depression, social isolation,
mental health issues and substance abuse." Commission
for Gambling Regulation figures show $28.2 million
was put into gaming machines in Port Phillip in 2009/2010.
The move is expected to drive forward the expansion
of illegal home poker games, gambling dens, as well
as driving more punters onto the internet sites and
games and entertainment portals.

Australian
Pokie Education And Political Format Website Portal
In War With 'The Truth'...

Here's
how it goes punters...Owing entirely to mistakes made
by the Illawarra Mercury, the Truth About Pre-Commitment
Reform was not published as contracted. Since the
time that the ad should have run, I have been accused
of actions I did not take, hung up on, indirectly
threatened with legal action by ClubsNSW (again),
and withstood suggestions to alter the advertisement
that would destroy it's core message. Provided the
Mercury make good on the commercial directors email
that states: "We are good. I will book the ad
into next weeks Mercury for Jan 11, 12 and 13. The
attached copy is the one approved to run so please
not that we will not accept any variation to this
copy without it going through the same approval process."
Readers, for more on the story and to make your own
mind up, check out
http://blog.pokieact.org/2011/01/battle-to-publish-truth-advertisement.html

Kaitaia, New Zealand; Land Of Sheep Sees 3 Lotto Wins
Born...

The
word is out - Kaitaia is lucky... or at least it just
was. 3 major prizes worth a cool combo of $654,456
grand were won in township in the span of past week.
A Lotto Strike first division ticket sold at Kaitaia
Pak'nSave won a local fella $529,456 in last Saturday's
draw, and on Wednesday, the local supermarket sold
a $100,000 Instant Kiwi ticket to another local. That
same night, a ticket sold at Kaitaia's Paper Plus
won the holder $25,000 in the Big Wednesday draw,
but that prize has yet to be claimed. The $529,456
Lotto Strike prize was claimed by a local man who
had made a last-minute addition to his grocery shopping.
Buying a Triple Dip was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
He checked his tickets online after the January 1
draw and thought it was "pretty cool" that
he had 3 of the right numbers. "I then checked
again and realised that I had all four of the right
Strike numbers, and thought, 'Oh no, that's me',"
said the man, who did not want to be named. "I'm
planning a party to celebrate. I also plan some sensible
investments with the money to make it last."
Kaitaia Pak'nSave owner Maurice Te Brake was delighted
that his store had helped put some much-needed money
into the local economy. "That's just awesome.
They [the two big winners] are local shoppers and
it's absolutely fantastic to know we've helped put
over $600,000 into the town," Te Brake said.
"I'm sure some of the money will get circulated
locally." A Media Man spokesperson said of the
new "This is great pr for the lotto industry.
It could have a few possible outcomes. More folks
will buy tickets at the shops or newsagents, or some
may hit lotto more on the internet, possibly both.
It brings some much welcome positive news to the Kiwi
lottery sector. Online casino jackpot games much also
experience a spike, as punters will be thinking to
go after the big one".

The
land of sheep' Department of Internal Affairs has
lost a 3 year war to prevent passionate gamblers playing
gaming machines in the smoking area of a popular Wellington
tavern that acts are a pokie haven of sorts. Since
2007, the department has attempted to add a "special
condition" (discrimination?) to the Kilbirnie
Tavern's gambling licence that would stop people playing
the machines in areas where having a puff is permitted.
The department reckons smoking and playing pokies
encourages problem gambling. The Gambling Commission
has allowed an appeal by gaming machine operator Lion
Foundation against the condition Internal Affairs
wanted to impose. The Kilbirnie Tavern is one of lucky
7 pokie venues in New Zealand where gambling machines
are played in smoking areas. It is common for club
pokie players to enjoy a smoke while on the punt.
Online pokie players are less inclined to smoke according
to a Media Man spokesperson. Punters, 2 sins for the
price of one! Ok, were are just lightning things up
for you. If you get on the punt, please know the odds,
and most of all, have fun, with or without having
a puff on whatever weed takes your fancy.

Media
Man http://www.mediamanint.com Casino News Media and
Gambling911.com are website portals. Not casinos as
such, however are recognised as world leading websites
that cover the sector and act as central points to
games, news, reviews and more.

Readers...
er, punters, how did you like our report? How did
you see in the new year? Did you like the extra New
Zealand supplement? Tell us in the forum.

If
you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over
it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Media
Man http://www.mediamanint.com
is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal
development company. Gaming is just one of a dozen
sectors covered

News

Australian
Gambling, Entertainment And Media News, by Greg Tingle
- 23rd December 2010

G'day
again and Merry Christmas punters, casino and gambling
millionaires, billionaires, entertainment news junkies,
insiders, outsiders, politicians, journalists and
everyone else. What a year it has been. It's just
2 sleeps before Christmas hits, depending upon where
you live, but the cracker Aussie news just keeps coming
think and fast. We thank you, the loyal readership
for your custom this year, and we look forward to
continuing to satisfy your desire for the best in
gambling, gaming, casino, entertainment and sports
news and information in 2011. Media Man and Gambling911
with a Santa's sleigh full stocking of news. Ho Ho
Ho!...

Former
senior detective Tony Murphy, a king of Australian
vice including the gambling and prostitution biz has
died. Legend has is that he was once one of the most
feared fit it and can do men in Sydney. By circa 2000
however has had assumed the position as the licensed
operator of the TAB betting facility at Dunwich on
Stradbroke Island, north east of Brisbane. Journey
back to 70's as he was the law man now to cross, striking
fear in the hearts of those who dared crossed him,
and who, according to many who knew him, was the boss
of corruption in a Queensland police force that was
as rotten you could get. It was the landmark inquiry
into police and political corruption headed by Tony
Fitzgerald QC began in 1987 and concluded in July
1989, that resulting in the locking up of 4 National
Party ministers as well as police commissioner Terry
Lewis, and the charging of more than 250 other people,
of whom 139 were found guilty. That's lot of heads,
crooked cops et al. All told, 30 coppers were charged
with crimes, 36 charges of official corruption laid
and 10 indemnities granted to corrupt senior police
who were involved in protecting illegal casino dens,
brothels and unlicensed bookmakers. Yep, crooks and
cops has finger in all sorts of pie. One against whom
a bush tucked bag of allegations were made but who
was never charged after the Fitzgerald inquiry was
'Our Murphy', who retired from his position of assistant
commissioner in 1983 after a "smashing"
38-year career. The Fitzgerald inquiry was told that
Murphy headed what was known as "The Rat Pack":
a trio of crooked cops who organised the standover
and the "creaming off" of organised crime
in Queensland. The Rat Pack comprised Murphy who was
the tough as shoe leather boss man, detective Glen
Hallahan and Terry Lewis. Some insider say they were
basically the creme and puppet masters of the brothels,
gambling dens and a range of other popular vice industries.
Yet another chapter of Queensland's love affair with
vice and corruption has been put to rest.

Aussie
Gambling And Media King James Packer And Mining King
Andrew Forrest Tag Team On Resources Investment...

It's
not quite the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip,
or even Packer's Crown Casino, but Packer and good
friend "Twiggy" Forrest have teamed up again,
the last known tag match being our favorite GenerationOne
indigenous employment initiative. Australian-listed
Medical Corporation saw its shares surge 342.86% to
16c yesterday, after it announced it was to buy Amphion
International, a private company backed by Packer
and Forrest, along with a $2.8 million share placement.
Packer is also understood to be a shareholder in the
Twig Meister's Fortescue Metals Group and as a vocal
supporter of the mining king's Generation One program.
Mining vet Miles Kennedy, the head of Amphion, will
head up the new project, along with Medical Corp chairman
Simon Lee, who has vast experience in the gold sector.
Packer, Forrest, along with ex Multiplex director
Tim Roberts, have supported the power play and will
take up their full entitlement in the share placement,
in a vote of confidence in the team finding a resource
project. It is understood Medical Corp will soon change
its name to reflect its new focus on the business
of mining. The purchase of Amphion and the share placement
would leave Medical Corp with about $12m in cash and
listed shares to seek out a "suitable investment"
in the resources sector. We wish the tag team will
in their hunt for their next jackpot, and we might
even pick up a shares soon, in yet another show of
support in the Packer - Forrest dream team.

Having
spent years, if not decades, in a war for news media
dominance down under, the families are now sharing
luxury ski lodge digs over Xmas. We hear that The
Packer's and their two juniors are heading to Beaver
Creek in Vail Colorado for Christmas where they will
be the guests of Seven Network big cheese Kerry Stokes.
Stokes has been buying up properties in the luxury
ski resort for years and has a world class penthouse
in the region which will suit fellow billionaire Packer
to a tee. Earlier in the year JP and Stokes clashed,
when Stokes made a hostile raid on 'Our James' Consolidated
Media Holdings, but both gents have moved forward.
Packer has of course bought a large bite of Ten and
insiders reckon there's will be plenty of sport to
go around the Aussie media landscape, should it get
split up from Ten's digital channel OneHD. Afterwards
The Packer's will snatch a lend of a a boat and cruise
up to the Bahamas. Packer family matriarch Ros has
flown to Paris, France, to catch up with daughter
Gretel for Xmas. Ok, that's you first lot of Xmas
media celeb goss. Stay tuned.

Aussie
Shane Warne May Focus More On Cricket And Poker; Love
Life Suffers Blow; Twitter-Gate...

Love
him or hate him (we like him lots, but not too much),
Warnie is newsworthy. Mate and biz partner or the
rich and famous, like James Packer, just to name one,
has a thing for poker (and ladies). Warne's romance
with British babe Liz Hurley has suffered a blow out.
Hurley has apparently distanced Warne the leg-spinner's
loose fingers (phone and other... satire) and love
for hot women again led distracted him, says Murdoch's
News Of The World. The 41-year-old legend reportedly
pumped out more than 100 hot texts to a married 44-year-old
Melbourne mother of two, Adele Angeleri, while he
was courting Hurley. The pair met when Angeleri, who
runs a shop across the road from Warne's office, allegedly
approached him with a business proposal only to receive
a string of propositions herself. The sexy text affair
reportedly spun out of control when the woman's husband,
lawyer Denis Angeleri, found out and stormed into
Warne's office demanding to speak to him. The following
day Warne is understood - alleged to have telephoned
a not happy Angeleri in an attempt to keep the affair
secret. Warne, who had reportedly told friends he
wanted to marry Hurley, has not been his usually happy
go lucky self on Twitter recently. "Still no
sleep so got up out of bed, now staring at the
water here in Perth, sulking and feeling grumpy!!
Need cheering up today!" Warne said in the early
hours of Friday morning. Not even Australia's comeback
in the Perth cricket Test could boost Warne's spirits.
He also asked why "some people enjoy being nasty,
it's good to be nice to." Media Man will be checking
in with Warnie's Twitter for further updates.

Crown
Casino Aussie Cricket Yarns And Gossip...

Cricket
Legend Jeff Thomson hit the stage at Melbourne's Crown
Casino in a shirt that Yankee ex politician and pro
wrestling colour man, Jesse 'The Body' Ventura would
have been proud of. Pink, yeah Pink! He also sported
black pants, black tie and a lovely cream jacket,
with his trademark mop of white hair hanging over
his shoulders. Maybe he mas been watching too many
re runs of WWE WrestleMania is its heyday or something.
Anyway, on with the story... the 60 year old or so
veteran was straight up at them Cricket Victoria luncheon,
and let loose with some ripper quotes on the Pommie
batsmen. Thomson had some words of wisdom for Australia's
selectors ahead of the 4th Ashes Test commencing at
the Melbourne Cricket Ground this Sunday. "Don't
worry about a spinner. Just keep the quicks. I think
we can frighten the s**t out of those blokes."
Thommo got to trade sledges with old rival Colin Cowdrey
on stage. Back in the day the story goes "Jeff
Thomson, I've been dying to meet you". Ex England
batsman David Lloyd, who suffered a nasty blow to
the groin region thanks to a Thommo thunderbolt in
the 1974-75 series. Hundred of guests laughed as they
crossed to video footage showed Lloyd sinking to the
turf in agony after been hit in the balls. Lloyd,
dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and a tie, evened
the score by sledging Thommo's dress last night. "You
look like a bag of s**t," Thommo responded. Thommo
was supportive of the Aussie side, that have been
bad ass with the sledging of late. "It's all
part and parcel of the game. "You are just trying
to upset the guy's concentration. You're out there
for six hours, you get bored sh*tless. You've got
to say something." Known for his speed in the
roaring 70s, Thommo was quizzed about reports that
his 160 km/h bowling had now estimated at closer to
170 km/h. "They came out pretty quick. I hit
a lot of sightscreens on the full. I wanted to be
the quickest and scare shit out of everybody and I
think I achieved that".

National
Australia Bank Reduces Gamble On Tabcorp Shares...

Gamiing
an gambling giant Tabcorp Holdings advised National
Australia Bank has reduced its holding in the firm.
Tabcorp advised in a statement on Monday that NAB
had decreased its relevant interest in the company
to 34,911,845 ordinary shares representing 5.097%
of its issued fully paid ordinary capital. On December
6, NAB was listed as holding 45,655, 936 shares in
Tabcorp, representing 6.67%. Tabcorp said the shares
were sold on December 14.

Aussie
Pub And Land Based Pokie Players Loose $2m Per Day!..

One
armed bandit punters are set to lose a record $800
million this year. Nearly $2.2 million a day ($200.4
million) was lost between July and September, the
third-highest quarterly loss in South Australian history.
If punters continue at this rate, they will lose more
than the record $792.6 million they fed poker machines
in the 2006-07 financial year. The last occurrence
that ore than $200 million was lost in a three-month
period was leading up to smoking bans in November
2007. Since then, losses steadily have decreased,
with pokes recording a 7-year low $729.4 million profit
in 2009-10. Last September, the state and federal
governments released the findings of two pre-commitment
technology trials in SA. They showed the technology,
which allows people to determine the amount of money
they want to spend before gambling, may be effective
in reducing the amount of money problem gamblers lose.
South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon said the latest
poker machine figures highlighted the urgency of implementing
a national mandatory pre-commitment scheme. "Voluntary
pre-commitment is a joke," he said. "What
it does show is the technology can work, but the only
way to do it properly is there has to be a mandatory
all-in pre-commitment scheme." State Gambling
Minister Tom Koutsantonis said South Australia was
leading the nation with pre-commitment technologies.
"This can empower individuals to take control
over their own spending behaviour," he said.
Yep, its man VS machine, citizens VS "big brother".

Nine
Entertainment Company Continues To Get New Blood Pumped
In...

Nine
is doing its utmost to give the business every chance
of hitting mega paydirt this year, with yet another
shot of new blood into the ranks. David Coleman will
lead Nine Entertainments digital growth. David
Coleman has been promoted internally to head up digital
activities across Nine Entertainment, the recently
rebranded PBL Media. Coleman, previously PBLs
director of strategy, will retain his original portfolio.
but adds good does of digital into the nex mix of
cocktail. Nine Entertainments assets include
the Nine Network, ACP Magazines and joint venture
with Microsoft NineMSN. Nine Entertainment CEO David
Gyngell said "David brings great experience and
understanding to our ever growing digital businesses,
having worked in the Internet industry since the late
90s. That hands-on experience, and his runs on the
board already with our group, make him the logical
choice for the new role in what is a key growth area
for Nine Entertainment Co." Coleman said "Our
digital assets are the best in the Australian media
sector, and we intend to build on them in the future.
We see great opportunities to both grow our existing
digital activities, and enter new categories. I am
looking forward to working with David and the broader
management team as we aggressively build our position
in digital media." Coleman first joined the PBL
family 5 years back. He now reps the firm on the boards
of several group assets, including NineMSN, Rate City,
Cudo and Sky News. Prior to joining the group, he
worked like a demon at Internet companies Looksmart
and dstore, as well as for one or two consulting firms.
We wish Colman well with his ongoing career at Nine,
part of Team Gyngell, an offshoot of what's know around
Aussie media and gambling circles as the 'Aussie Gumleaf
Mafia'.

Wrap
Up...

Readers...
er, punters, how did you like our report? Have you
been naughty or nice, and what sort of Xmas present
are you gambling on? Tell us in the forum.

If
you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over
it, and for God's sake, have fun.

Sylvester
Stallone Sex Film 'The Party at Kitty and Stud's'
Sells For $400K on eBay...

Sly,
The Italian Stallion himself, is back in action erotic
action, sort of... The rights to a soft-porn film
starring Sylvester Stallone four decades ago, was
sold on e-Bay for $412,100. The then strapped-for-cash
star made his on-screen debut in the 1970 film "The
Party at Kitty and Stud's." Stallone played Stud,
a young man who, along with his oversexed lover Kitty,
enjoys inviting various women into their bed. The
71-minute movie was eventually renamed "The Italian
Stallion" by Bryanston Distributors after the
actor became famous in "Rocky." Now that
the rights have been purchased (the owner has not
yet been identified), it's likely the film will be
re-released, The Sun reported. In an interview in
the 1970s, Stallone, now 64, told Playboy that he
was so poor that he had to take the role. "It
was either do that movie or rob someone because I
was at the endat the very endof my rope.
Instead of doing something desperate, I worked two
days for $200." After filming "Rocky,"
the erotic filmmakers tried to sell the movie back
to Stallone for $100,000, but the actor said he "wouldn't
pay two bucks for it," according to AOL's Moviefone.
Last year MGM unsuccessfully tried to buy the flick.
Sly, you've cum a long way since then.

Bono
snuck into 'Sin City' Sydney on Saturday. He headed
for a eat and a drink as he often does when down under.
The renowned Irish rock singer, who spent two weeks
at Sydney's Bungan Beach with his family in 2006 completely
undetected, casually strolled into Rose Bay nosherie
Catalina on Sunday for a seafood feed with guitarist
The Edge (David Evans) and the eatery's owner, Michael
McMahon. On Saturday night he arrived unannounced
at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar at Bondi Beach and
like a normal person waited or a table at the "no
reservations" restaurant. "He was having
a red cocktail but didn't finish it because a table
became available," advised a deepthroat. No,
not a Stallone type of deepthroat you rascals. The
U2 360 tour begins in Melbourne this Wednesday night.

Avatar
Michelle Rodriguez Star Teams Up With Sea Shepherd
In Perth...

Hollywood
babe actress Michelle Rodriguez, star of Avatar, was
in Fremantle supporting anti-whaling activist group
Sea Shepherd. Rodriguez has been aboard Sea Shepherds
flagship vessel MY Steve Irwin. The crew are replenishing
supplies before heading to the Southern Ocean in December.
The trip, dubbed 'Operation No Compromise', will be
Sea Shepherds seventh mission into the frigid
waters of Antarctica to attempt to stop the slaughter
of whales by Japanese "scientific researchers".
Among the crew are three Perth residents including
former Labor Attorney General Jim McGintys brother
Kevin McGinty, Steven Bennett and Georgie Dicks. Captain
Locky MacLean said the crew are looking forward to
having Rodriguez on board. The group, which uses rather
militant art of war tactics in its fight against whaling,
made headlines early this year when their stealth
vessel the Ady Gill was "cut in half" by
Japanese whalers. This year, a new monohull fast vessel
called the Ocean Adventurer will replace the Ady Gill.
SS are currently seeking a large sponsor which would
give them the naming rights to use 'Godzilla'. Something
like that. Sea Shepherds Australian Director
Jeff Hansen said: "It is great to see high profile
people like Miss Rodriguez giving up their spare time
to help promote our fight to defend the whales being
illegally targeted in New Zealand and Australian waters".
Media Man lost good mate Peter Carrette this past
weekend, approximately 48 hours after doing photography
at the Bondi Beach 'No Compromise' gig at Bondi Beach
last Friday. R.I.P Peter. We miss you mate.

Darren
Aronofsky Explains 'The Wolverine' Aussie Hugh Jackman...

If
you're wondering why "Black Swan" director
Darren Aronofsky was hired to tackle "The Wolverine"
for 20th Century Fox, wonder no more. Aronofsky himself
has broken his silence on the "Wolverine"
front in an extensive interview with Movie City News.
According to the filmmaker, his reasons for choosing
the "Wolverine" non-sequel as his next project
are quite simple: in the end, he just wanted to have
a good time. "I'm just trying to have fun,"
he said. "I think, for the first time in my life,
you know, every single film that I've done so far
I've been the only person in the room who wants to
make the movie. And, I kind of am excited about doing
a film where actually everyone wants to make it just
to see what the experience is like and to see if I
can do what I do in that world." It's not like
I'm going to change my process," he added. "I'm
going to be working with the same team, and making,
you know, really trying to do something very, very
different and see what happens." During the interview,
Aronofsky said that he's received a large amount of
support both from franchise lead Hugh Jackman and
Fox Studios head Tom Rothman, joking that Rothman
"doesn't even know how gutsy it is" that
he hired the outside-the-box filmmaker for "The
Wolverine." "I've been looking for a situation
where everything lines up really well. This just makes
sense; I think I'm being hired because of who I am.
I'm not being hired to turn into someone. I'm being
hired to do what I do. I don't know if (Rothman) knows
exactly what he's bought, but we're definitely going
to make something great, you know, but it will be
very different, and that's what I do. We're going
to try and have a great time with it."

John
Travolta and Kelly Preston 'Overjoyed' With New Baby
Benjamin; Travolata Not Gay...

Living
legend and iconic star of Saturday Night Fever (the
movies and the online slot game), is delighted with
his new baby, but very unhappy about the gay rumours.
Actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston took to Travolta's
website earlier this week to announce the birth of
their 8-pound, 3-ounce son, Benjamin Travolta. "We
are overjoyed to announce the arrival of our son,
Ella's baby brother, Benjamin Travolta. Born November23,
2010 in Florida, Benjamin is healthy and doing beautifully.
Thank you for the congratulations messages and wishes...we
are beyond happy about the newest addition to our
family," the family said in the message. Travolta,
56, and Preston, 48, announced the pregnancy earlier
this year, celebrating with a dozen close friends
at a shower held at their Los Angeles-area home. "This
baby is such a healing baby," a family friend
told People magazine. The pregnancy was the first
bit of good news they had shared in a long time. "It's
impossible to keep a secret," they wrote in a
statement on Travolta's website in May, "especially
one as wonderful as this." We want to be the
first to share this great news with everyone that
we are expecting a new addition to our family,"
the online statement continued and like this week's
update, was signed "Love, John, Kelly and Ella."
John Travolta's family has been dealt another blow
as reports emerge that he has been allegedly cheating
on his wife...engaging in "lewd sex acts with
other men" as part of a "secret gay spa
subculture." Perez Hilton posted the story on
his website along with a cover of the National Enquirer,
carrying the headline "John Travolta Caught In
Cheating Scandal! "John Travolta has been cheating
on Kelly for years!" said Robert Randolph, author
of the memoir, You'll Never Spa in This Town Again.
"And when the details emerge, he's gonna make
Tiger Woods look like a boy scout." John has
been married to Kelly Preston for 19 years, with the
pair expecting their third child this year. They lost
their eldest son Jett in 2009 to an autism-related
seizure.

Entertainment
trade publication Variety published a report today
on WWE Studios's new films strategy "flopping"
at the box office, but perhaps finding a market on
home video. Variety followed up on WWE's third quarter
earnings report last Thursday by noting WWE reported
$3.8 million in revenue related to "Legendary,"
despite the movie drawing a measly $200,000 at the
box office. WWE executive Jim Connelly told Variety
that WWE is banking on strong storefront marketing
at retail locations such as Walmart to help boost
DVD and Blu-ray sales of their movies. Variety also
reported on WWE pushing their slate of movies to theaters
simply for marketing purposes before pulling the movies
and releasing them on DVDs. That was apparent with
WWE Studios's theatrical release schedule for "Legendary"
and "Knucklehead." Related to the planned
launch of the WWE TV Network potentially in 2011,
Variety reports that WWE is looking to their slate
of movies to serve as "more high-profile programming"
on the new cable tele channel. Going forward, Jim
Connelly told Variety that WWE will be re-evaluating
their movie release schedule for 2011 as they begin
to roll out the next slate of low-budget movies in
theaters with an eye on home video. Variety concluded:
"For now, it appears as if the future of WWE
Studios will play out on the smallscreen."

Australian
actress Nicole Kidman and huby singer Keith Urban
will be on The Oprah Winfrey Show tomorrow. Urban
has earlier confirmed that he would be performing
in the shows Ultimate Australian Adventure episodes
to be filmed later this year. "Tomorrow, two
of the hottest Aussies are here! Nicole Kidman and
Keith Urban! The countdown to Oprah's Ultimate Australian
Adventure starts now!," says a post on the official
Facebook page for The Oprah Winfrey Show. Keith Urban
was in The Oprah Winfrey Show earlier this November
where he confirmed his performance at the much anticipated
episodes set to be shot in Sydney this December. Urban
promoted his sixth studio album Get Closer to in the
United States. However, the Australia singer did not
comment on rumours that his wife Nicole Kidman will
also be on Oprah's Australian show. Tomorrow's episode
might just confirm if Nicole Kidman will indeed be
a guest on December 14 and 15 at the Sydney Opera
"Oprah" House.

Remember
the Aussie cult film classic that went on to mainstream...Max
Max. They got to #3, always with Aussie tough guy
Mel Gibson in the lead as 'Max Rockatansky' aka 'The
Road Warrior'. Filming will take place near Broken
Hill, New South Wales. Gibson will not be reprising
his old role in Mad Max 4: Fury Road which will star
British actor Tom Hardy alongside Charlize Theron.
In November 2006, George Miller had stated that he
still had full intentions to make Fury Road, telling
the press that he was considering doing the film without
Mel Gibson, saying, There's a real hope. The
last thing I wanted to do is another Mad Max, but
this script came along, and I'm completely carried
away with it." The film's screenplay was co-written
with cult British comic creator Brendan McCarthy,
who also designed many of the new characters and vehicles.
Miller again confirmed his desire to make another
Mad Max at the 2007 Aurora film maker initiative.
However, he did say he thought Mel Gibson would not
be interested in the film because he is too old (not
too nuts!)

Billionaire
Branson To Launch Apple iPad Lifestyle Mag...

Aussie's
live Branson and Virgin, so you'll love this...Word
of Sir Dick's plans to publish "Project"
for delivery on iPads came shortly after media mogul
Rupert Murdoch hinted that his News Corp empire will
soon publish a digital newspaper for the hot Apple
gadgets. News Corp, owner of The Australian, has been
tight-lipped about the project but 79-year-old mogul
Murdoch acknowledged in an interview last week that
"The Daily" is in the works. Sir Richard
said in invitations to the press that "Project"
themes will include entertainment, travel, business,
design, and international culture. The event in New
York City on Wednesday did not indicate whether "Project"
would be provided as passenger reading on flights.
Billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard owns about half
of Virgin Atlantic airline with its aircraft that
boast internet-age amenities such as power outlets
at seats and wireless connections to the web. He recently
said that his Virgin Galactic enterprise is on track
to offer commercial space travel within 18 months,
and that space hotels are next on the drawing board.
Yeah, we know, Branson has appeared in films such
as Casino Royale, Around The World in 80 days, and
a good spread of other movies and TV specials. If
your going to be a media tart, you might as well be
very good at it.

Lachlan
Murdoch, son of News Corp. Chairman Rupert, has recently
acquired a little over half of James Packers
stake in Ten Network Holdings Ltd. Packer bought a
17.88% stake, or 172.2 million shares, in the media
group last month through Cavalane Holdings Ltd. Murdoch,
through Illyria Nominees Television Pty Ltd. has agreed
to buy 93.4 million shares for A$128.2 million, according
to a regulatory filing to the ASX (Australian Stock
Exchange). The two gents will act in concert in relation
to the exercise of their votes, the statement said.
Packer and Murdoch agreed to join the board of Australias
third-ranked television broadcaster last month. Gina
Rinehart, Australias richest woman, lifted her
stake in the company to 10%. Packer also owns 49%
of Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd. which in turn
has 25% of Foxtel, down under's largest pay television
operator.

Try
not to get square eyes. We're told PartyGaming still
has the best movie blockbuster themed slot games on
the planet, but you be the judge, jury and executioner.
The Media Man has left the building.

News

Australian
Land Based Casino News Update, by Greg Tingle - 8th
May 2010

Australia
is home to some of the world's great casinos, hotels
and resorts.

While
the land down under has over a dozen land based casinos,
there's only three that both rate highly and grab
the majority of headlines on a global stage. Enter
James Packer's Crown Casino in Melbourne, Tabcorp's
Star City in Sydney, and Jupiters Hotel & Casino
on the Gold Coast.

Media
Man and Gambling911 take our eye in the sky look
at the landscape of the Aussie land based casino sector
and bring you up to speed with what's news down under...

Readers
will be aware that there's a "casino war"
in the land of kangaroos, koalas and goannas at the
moment. You would have to be Blind Fredy not to know
about the ultra competitive showdown (and hunt for
whales and dolphins) between Packer's Crown Casino
down south and Tabcorp's Star City in 'Sin City' Sydney.

Crown
Casino and Star City are following the global trend,
largely driven forward from Las Vegas and Macau, of
offering a total entertainment experience... not just
gambling... you know, slots, poker, table games and
the like. Whales aka high-rollers, have also demanded
the changing face of the sector. Don't get us wrong,
the gambling aspect remains vital to the business
model and to the punters, but for a variety of reasons
Australian casino kings have employed a more holistic
model. The reasons include being more government friendly,
legal eagle elements and complimenting the larger
casino, entertainment and lifestyle sector.

Some
of the ramped up services and offerings as part of
the industry development include but are not limited
to:

Entertainment
complex upgrades (including securing more world class
acts, more often, to attract the crowds and keep all
clients and business partners happy)
Hotel suite refurbishments
Private gambling room upgrades for high rolling VIP's
Sports bar upgrades
Enhanced security - technology and more staff
Gulf Stream Jets aka Lear Jets for international high
rollers in a hurry and who demand and casino afford
the best

Aussie Casino News Bytes

Crown
Casino: Hosted the Logies last week with 1000 guests
in attendance. Broadcast on Network Nine Australia.
Bert Newton did a fine job as host. One journalist
/ columnist was fired for what many saw as inappropriate
Twitter - ing, including the editor of The Age newspaper.
Upgraded website. Management in regular contact with
sister casinos, City of Dreams Macau and Altira Macau.
100s more staff to be employed, some of which under
the GenerationOne employment initiative, dedicated
to helping get Indigenous Australians back into the
workforce

Star
City: Has expanded their budget by another $100,000
or so. Is ordering 1 or 2 Lear Jets to help better
compete with Crown Casino. Upgraded website.

Jupiters
Gold Coast: Upgraded their poker room to the tune
of a few hundred thousand dollars, Mother Africa Circus
of the Senses is showing at Jupiters Theater. Last
week a casino courtesy bus was allegedly nabbed by
a disgruntle contractor owned money. The case is currently
in the courts. Jupiters is nearby to the beaches where
major surfing competitions take place annually. Dreamworld
(Hollywood On The Gold Coast) is only a short drive
away from the casino. Upgraded website.

Burswood
Entertainment Complex: Upgraded security, shows include
Nitro Circus Live, Cats, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson
Tribute Show and Mammi Mia! Burswood is known to put
on fantastic community fundraisers. American pro wrestling
legend Hulk Hogan drew a massive crowd at Burswood
late last year for his charity work with the Make-A-Wish
Foundation. Virgin's Richard Branson also did some
impressive fundraising on site last month, with folks
the world over keen to meet and speak to the entrepreneur.
Branson's Virgin Games remains keen to expand the
gaming globally, including the AWOMO (A World Of My
Own), and perhaps the face to face meetings with the
media and political savvy Aussie Casino king, James
Packer, won't go astray.

Casino
Canberra: Blast From The Past: Are you a baby boomer?
Then dont dare miss Baby Boomers Blast from
the Past, the ultimate live entertainment experience.
Laugh, dance, party Friday 14 May at Casino Canberra.
Watch comic impersonator Chris De Havilland bring
to life the likes of Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Elvis
Presley, Joe Cocker, Neil Diamond, and many more baby
boomer entertainers. On the 3rd of June - Aussie comedian
legends...Austen Tayshus and Elliot Goblet! Austen
Tayshus is described as a drunken yobbo's worst nightmare,
someone who can out gross you, out yell you and out
last you. Austen Tayshus walks a skillful line between
the truly offensive and the truly funny. And Elliot
Goblet, the master of oodles of clever but unrelated
one liners and the odd two liner as well. Both comedians
are on one night of classic Aussie humour. Meet the
Canberra Raiders NRL Raiderettes! Before Raiders games
you have the opportunity to meet some of the Raiderettes
and take advantage of the beer and snack footy pack.
Galaxy Nightclub - Canberra's hottest nightclub opens
from 9pm every Saturday with the beats of the 70's
and the best of the 80's. Come and hear the soundtrack
of our lives. Galaxy has a NO GLASS policy!

The
Reef Hotel Casino: 13th, 14th and 15th May - Lisa
Hunt Returns. Soul, Disco & Motown. The way it
should sound!

Ok
readers, we hear you... you also want to know some
of the best places to play online (that accept Aussies)
if your in or around the Asia Pacific - Australia
(including Tassie) and New Zealand, so here it is...